Dallas Sierra Club Calendar
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Oct 26 (Sat) Hike Around White Rock Lake
Expect a great morning for a brisk walk around the most loved park in Dallas. Our outing descriptions often say that if you walk the 9-mile trail around White Rock Lake in 3 or 3 1/2 hours and feel good the next day, you're probably in shape for most of our backpacking trips. Here's an opportunity for a fun walk and workout with friends to cheer you. Meet by the doors of the Bath House Cultural Center (521 East Lawther Drive). Access is via Northcliff Drive from Buckner Boulevard. We'll start walking at 9:05 and finish by 1:00 with an option to go munch at Hypnotic Donuts! Bring a day pack with water and light munchies. I promise brief breaks every 45 minutes! We won't walk if it's raining at 9:00. Trip rated: Moderate. Leader: Mark Stein Send Email 214-789-4596
Nov 16 (Sat) Educational Outing - John Bunker Sands Wetland
Join me for an educational outing on a cool fall day in Seagoville Texas (20 minutes SE of Dallas). John Bunker Sands Wetland (also known as the North Texas Municipal Water District’s East Fork Wetland) is a great example of how man can work with nature to help solve societal problems facing us today and into the future. The Wetland was created to use natural processes to polish water from the Trinity River and move the polished water to Lake Lavon. It is estimated that up to 40% of the water used by the North Texas Municipal District comes from the Wetland.
The Wetland serves as an excellent example of land stewardship. Not only is the Wetland a means to conserve our valuable water resource, but it also provides for wildlife habitat. The Wetland was designed to use native Texas aquatic plants to naturally polish the water, while at the same time providing for an abundance of wildlife, which includes over 250 species of birds.*
We will meet at 9:00 am. We will have a general discussion about the Wetland and at 10:30 join a staff member of the Wetland for a walk around the Wetland and learn more about how the Wetland works. We will come back for lunch and then walk out and see the nesting eagles who have their nest near the Wetland. A hat and good walking shoes are recommended. Bring your lunch and a liter of water. If you have binoculars, bring them for a better look at the eagles. The outing will end around 3:00. Limit 10 people. Cost is $5 per person.
* From the NTMWD website. Trip rated: Easy. Leader: Jim Binnings Send Email 205-746-3266
The NTMWD (North Texas Municipal Water District) area population is projected to increase from 1.5 million people to 3.5 million people by 2050. The demand for water will be like adding the equivalent of one Lake Lavon every decade for 50 years. Traditional conservation methods alone will not meet future needs, especially with the population projections for the region. Most other options are complicated and costly. The East Fork Wetland Project is the exception and increases the district's water supply by 40%, plus it keeps water bills lower than other options with the benefit of enhancing the environment. The East Fork of the Trinity River plays a key role in boosting the region's water supply by billions of gallons.
Representing the largest project in Texas using reclaimed water to augment a surface water supply source, The East Fork Wetland Project provides the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) with over 102,000 acre-feet of water per year – this is the same capacity of water supplied by Lake Lavon. Completed in 2009, this project consists of diverting water from the East Fork of the Trinity River and polishing the water in one of the largest constructed wetlands in the country (1,840 acres). After passage through the wetland, the water is pumped through an 84” pipeline, 43 miles north of the wetland site to Lake Lavon for storage, blending and water supply use. **
** From the NTMWD website.
Nov 20 (Wed) No Outings Committee Meeting
The November Outings Committee meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting will be January 22. Contact: Mark Stein Send Email 214-526-3733
Feb 5-9 (Wed-Sun) Big Bend National Park Bus Trip
Details and registration forms for the Dallas Sierra Club's annual bus trip to Big Bend National Park are now online! Depart Dallas at 9:00 PM Wednesday, February 5, return Sunday by 11:59 PM. We offer options to day hike from a base camp, backpack every day or mix day hiking and backpacking in our four days at Big Bend. Featured destinations include the Chisos Mountains, Rio Grande Hot Spring, the Blue Creek Trail, Mule Ears, The Chimneys and Tule Spring. Click this PDF document for full information. Participation in each itineray option is limited. Early registrants get priority of preference for trip options. Bus trip leader: Mark Stein Send Email 214-526-3733
